[asterisk-biz] Consortium of Sorts for Interconnects and VoIP providers to a Lesser Degree

[Steve Totaro]

Your questions will be addressed in the soon to be announced website and wiki.

One thing I can say for sure, is that, no, there is not alot of room
in the consortium if you have nothing special to offer, live in a
saturated area, or have a generally argumentative or negative
attitude.

-- 
Thanks,
Steve Totaro
+18887771888 (Toll Free)
+12409381212 (Cell)
+12024369784 (Skype)


On Wed, Jan 28, 2009 at 9:03 AM, Alex Balashov
<abalashov at evaristesys.com> wrote:
> Hey Steve,
>
> It sounds like a good idea, but I'm having a bit of trouble
> understanding how exactly it will work.  Can you clarify:
>
> 1) What exactly is a "consortium for all things VoIP?"  Just what does
> that entail in practise?
>
> 2) How is it that various vendors doing overlapping things will be in
> the consortium without directly competing with each other, if the
> consortium is meant to be a channel for new deal flow?  What's the idea?
>  Vertically integrate vendors that don't quite do the same thing?  If
> so, there isn't a lot of room in the consortium.
>
> -- Alex
>
> Steve Totaro wrote:
>
>> Hello everyone,
>>
>> I am going to throw out an idea and see if it sticks.  I have had this
>> idea for quite a while now and I think the moons have aligned to get
>> it done..
>>
>> I will be creating a consortium for all things VoIP as well as any
>> other specialties a shop or individual can bring to the table, such as
>> custom programming and dev work.
>>
>> The idea is that people and companies in the consortium operate under
>> the name of the consortium.
>>
>> Some will be rejected or be kicked out of the consortium for doing
>> anything that breaks the rules, such as stealing a customer, or
>> regular complaints from customers.  There will be a whole binding
>> contract in this regard.
>>
>> Consortium members will be picked by geographical location, skill set,
>> proficiency, and some other factors.
>>
>> Nobody in the consortium will directly compete with other members, and
>> prices for services will be standardized.
>>
>> The the whole idea is for you to keep your business, yet operate to
>> some degree in the consortium (no leaching).
>>
>> We all help each other out, either by sending leads, or even going on
>> a sales calls for another person in the consortium (obviously, this
>> would be a paid gig).  Let's face it, some people can sell much better
>> than others.  For a big deal, I would potentially fly someone in who
>> is great sales person and pay them well for their time.
>>
>> We can sub out work to each other that are in the inner circle of trust.
>>
>> One other HUGE and the main benefit when coming up with the idea, is
>> that we will all act as one company on the surface, so there is great
>> credibility there rather than a one, two, or even ten man shop.  We
>> will also act as one company to some degree behind the scenes.  I have
>> turned away plenty of business because I was booked solid or did not
>> have the skillset nor time to learn it.
>>
>> I would gladly turn over that business to someone else in the
>> consortium providing a get a kickback for the sale and the job get's
>> done correctly.
>>
>> To the outside world, we appear to be a single World Wide company,
>> with offices and technicians that could be onsite anywhere in the US
>> and other countries.
>>
>> If you have any interest, questions, or any kind of feedback, please
>> post to the list or email directly if it is not list material.
>>
>
>
> --
> Alex Balashov
> Evariste Systems
> Web    : http://www.evaristesys.com/
> Tel    : (+1) (678) 954-0670
> Direct : (+1) (678) 954-0671
> Mobile : (+1) (678) 237-1775